Song of Solomon

Throughout not only the OT, but also the NT, the relationship between God and His people is described using the IMAGERY of marriage. Of course it has nothing to do with the biology of human marital sexual relations , but the covenant between God and His people is described using the covenant relationship of marriage. We are talking of spiritual things, not physical things, but God speaks to us using what we can relate to, so often He will use the imagery our human relationships. And in this case it is marriage.

We, His people must love Him with all our hearts and all our minds and all our souls, and cleave to Him alone and be one with Him, just as a man and a woman join to make one flesh. (Matthew 22:37,Genesis 2:24)

Whereas Song of Songs describes the ideal relationship between a lover and His beloved, more often than not, the OT describes the relationship between God and His people as one between a loving,forgiving and long suffering spouse (God) to constantly unfaithful wife (Israel).

You only have to look at some of the Scripture links that are used as examples in that link.

eg In Isaiah 54:
5 ² For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the LORD of hosts; Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. 6 The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. 8 In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; But with enduring love I take pity on you, says the LORD, your redeemer.And the book of the Prophet Hosea is all about a faithful husband and a harlot wife.

Even in the NT Jesus refers to Himself as the Bridegroom who will come to take to Himself a pure and spotless Bride (the Church).

Matthew 25:

1 ¹ “Then ² the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 ³ Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, 4 but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’One has to understand the marriage customs of the times to understand what Jesus is saying a little better, and to understand the true meaning of the Eucharist.

When a man wanted to wed a maiden, and claim her for his own,he would go to the girls father and make an offer for her, telling her father what he would give as the bride price for her. If the father was agreeable to the contract, he would put it in front of the girl in the presence of the prospective bridegroom and pour a cup of wine. If she drank from the cup, it meant she accepted the marriage, and she wore a veil from that day forward to signify that she was set apart for husband and belonged to him alone

The bridegroom would then go away for about a year to prepare a place for his bride, and in that time she would prepare herself for her bridegroom. Usually the room the groom would prepare was a room added to his fathers house, and when this place was ready, he would come back to claim his bride. There would be a marriage feast and then he would lead her into his house as his bride.

It is in this context that Jesus says in John 14:

2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.In Revelation, Jesus speaks about the time when He will come to claim His Bride (the Church) and the wedding feast of the Lamb who is the Bridegroom and His Bride who is the Church and the heavenly Jerusalem:

Revelation 19:

7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb ³ has come, his bride has made herself ready. 8 She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen garment.” (The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.) ⁴ 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed ⁵ are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These words are true; they come from God.”
Revelation 21:

2 I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, ³ coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

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Mark of the Beast (666)

it is not a literal mark.

This concept (of a ‘mark’ on a person) is common throughout the bible tradition and theology and serves as a reminder of the one you serve. It is a symbol of allegiance, not a physical mark according to New Testament scripture. The person who is ‘marked’ is one who is allied with God or the Devil (beast), hence it is his believe, faith and character that is the mark.

Many other scriptures allude to this, for example:

Mark of God – Revelations 7:3 Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.

Mark of God – Revelations 9:4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Mark of the Beast – Revelations 13:15-17 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or[a] the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Mark of God – Revelations 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Mark of the Harlot – Revelations 17:4-6 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.[a] 5 And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

Mark of God – Revelations 22:3-4 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

Many examples in the Old Testament on this literal reminder to the people. One such example is in Jewish prayer as instructed by the Torah.

In Judaism, when Jewish men pray, they …

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Proper Age for Marriage

Wondering everyone’s opinion on this, when do you think the best age range to get married is? I got married at 19, looking back I think it was way to young to get married, my husband and I both had no clue about marriage but thank God it all worked out. My SIL got engaged at 16 and married at 17 when I found out I wanted to shake her because she really has no clue what she’s getting herself into and the fact that no one seems to be a fan of birth control in Syria makes me even more worried.

In modern times, I think the best time for youngsters to get married is upon entering full time work preferably after college or trade school and capable of living independently.

In the old days of the Prophets etc, this age was very young because responsibilities were taken up at a very young age sometimes as young as 12. Heck, you had 13 year olds running Kingdoms in the times of the Ancient Egyptians.

Modern times has a completely different dictate and kids are not taking on responsibilities to that same level as in the old days until they are in their late 20’s. Some folks dont even achieve that mark, unfortunately.

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Undercover Mosque – The Return (Video)

Undercover Mosque – The Return (Video)

Dispatches Program 2008 Report. A continuing report on extremism in UK Mosques building on the 2007 report.

To watch and post discussion or debate: Undercover Mosque – The Return

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